What skills are needed to get a Job in the Future of Work ?

My friend David Michaelis’s  view - who is part of our i4j forum - is that the winners in the future of work is not your expertise but how you tackle new frontiers!.

 He refers to an  excellent article - (Click here  ) about the future of work written by Harvard lecturer: Vikram Mansharamani twitter @mansharamani.

Here is my take on the article 

Specialist or Generalist?

Is it  deep expertise that will lead to enhanced credibility, rapid job advancement, and escalating incomes. Core competence, unique skills, deep expertise. 

Or 

Being broad-minded or dabbling - having  the ability to connect the dots - and refer to the specialists - ( the skillset of a generalist ).

Someone who can recognise the opportunity / problem - and have the ability to refer - either to a tablet. (Product) or a specialist (Service) 

 ‘No specific skill will get you ahead in the future’—but this ‘way of thinking’

My plug 

BBG (powered by referron) is a group of specialists - (think of the bbg oval -  as  a baseball oval - whichever base the  customer comes - the objective is to enable that customer to hit a home run and be served by each base - the entire team.  www.bbg.business

Referron and refermeto is the tech behind it thatcan make this happen .

(Technology still being built - but we have a cool mvp - a labour of love!!!)

Feel free to download Referron and upload your profile, so that you to can have your virtual business card.    And refer - it’s free https://members.referron.com/bsivc

End of plug 

The Future of work

The message in the past was clear: Focus on developing an expertise and you’ll rise through the ranks and earn more money. The approach worked. Many of today’s leaders ascended by specializing.

This may no longer be the case!!!

The one certainty about the future is that it will be uncertain. 

The future belongs to generalists

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence and technological innovation have commoditized information. 

AI and machines can do much of the work of the specialist 

In today’s world, it’s important to be agile and flexible.

The future belongs to the generalists!!

> You need to see the entire elephant and the Savannah 

> You need to be a systems thinker 

> You need to think bigger and wider than you’ve traditionally done.

>You need to have a set of tools to draw from or a group of specialists - products or services you can refer to.

> You need to Learn how to learn 

What skills are needed to get a Job in the Future of Work ?

Lisa Stern Hayes, one of Google’s top recruiters, said in a podcast that the company values problem-solvers who have a “general cognitive ability” over role-related knowledge.

“Think about how quickly Google evolves,” she said. “If you just hire someone to do one specific job, but then our company needs change, we need to be rest assured that the person is going to find something else to do at Google. That comes back to hiring smart generalists.”

The analytical capabilities you develop (e.g. basic statistical skills and critical reasoning) in the process will fare well when competing against those who are more focused on domain-specific skill.

The skill of connecting the  dots is where it’s all at “.